Atomisers for perfume and other liquids

ABSTRACT

An atomiser for dispensing perfume or other liquid comprises a pump in the form of a piston slidable in a cylinder, liquid being discharged only when a predetermined pressure exists within the cylinder. Ridges on the inner surface of the cylinder cause deformation of the piston at the end of its compressive stroke; such deformation causes air-escape passages to be formed between the piston and cylinder to facilitate priming of the pump.

11 1 3,774,849 51 Nov. 27, 1973 222/384 ZZZ/38$ 222/321 X 3,608,7889/1971 Tanaka.................,............. 3,627,206 12/1971B0ris................ 3,463,093 8/1969 Pfeiffer et R E H T o D N A E M UF R E P R. 0 F S H mm mm TM AL 4 w [75] Inventor: Michel Boris, Paris,France Assignee:

gggs r rg de Pulvensauon Primary Examiner-Allen N. Knowles AssistantExaminer-Gene A. Church Attorney-William D. Lucas 22 Filed: Aug. 10,1972 Appl. No.: 279,664

ABSTRACT [30] Foreign Application Priority Data Aug. 19, 1971 France Anatomiser for dispensing perfume or other liquid comprises a pump in theform of a piston slidable in a cylinder, liquid being discharged onlywhen a predejtermined pressure exists within the cylinder. Ridges on theinner surface of the cylinder cause deformation of the piston at the endof its compressive stroke; such deformation causes air-escape passagesto be formed between the piston and cylinder to facilitate priming ofthe pump.

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[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,239,151 3/1966Jokelson....... 239/361 X 3 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures ATOMISERS FORPERFUME AND OTHER LIQUIDS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of theInvention The invention relates to atomisers for discharging a spray ofliquid, for example perfume.

2. Description of the Prior Art One previously proposed atomisercomprises a pump chamber which is connected to a liquid containerthrough a non-return valve and in which are fitted, with freedom toslide, a hollow piston connected to an atomiser nozzle, a shut-offmember for isolating the nozzle from the pump chamber, spring-actioncomponents which seek to maintain the said member in its closedposition, and means whereby the pressure within the chamber can be usedto move the shut-off member to its open position.

The pump chamber is normally isolated from the atomiser nozzle. When thepiston is forced into that chamber, the pressure of the liquid withinrises, since the non-return valve prevents that liquid from returning tothe container. Once that pressure is sufficient to overcome the actionof the spring-action components, communication is established betweenthe pump chamber and the nozzle. The liquid contained in the pumpchamber isthus not vapourised until its pressure has reached aparticular level, so as to prevent the liquid from forming intonon-vapourised drops, as would occur if the pump chamber were placed incommunication with the nozzle directly the piston movement began. Thesame applies to the final stage of the piston movement, the shut-offmember being caused by the spring-action components to return to itsclosed position, thereby preventing communication between the pumpchamber and the nozzle, while the pressure within the chamber isstill'at a certain level.

This previously proposed atomiser is, however, difficult to prime since,at the outset, the pump chamber contains nothing but air. The rise inpressure associated with movement'of the piston is insufficient toovercome the action of the spring-action components and move theshut-off member to its open position, so that the compressed air isunable to escape. All that happens when the piston is restored to itsstarting position is that this air expands, no liquid being drawn intothe pump chamber.

According to the present invention, there is provided in an atomiser,means defining a pump chamber, a nonreturn valve, means connecting thepump chamber to a liquid container through the non-return valve, ahollow piston having an active part slidable in the pump chamber,atomiser nozzle means connected with the piston, closure means normallyisolating the nozzle means from the pump chamber, said closure meansbeing releasable by pressure within the chamber to permit communicationbetween the chamber and the nozzle means, and ridges defined on theinner surface of the chamber, the axial length of the ridges being atleast equal to the length of the active part of the piston.

The result of this arrangement is that the piston undergoes transversedeformation as it reaches the end of its stroke, resulting in theformation of passages through which the air can escape between the pumpchamber wall and the piston.

Further according to the present invention, there is provided in anatomiser, means defining a pump chamber, a non-return valve, meansconnecting the pump chamber to a liquid container via the non-returnvalve, piston means mounted in the pump chamber, nozzle means arrangedfor communication with the pump chamber, valve means closable to preventcommunication between the nozzle means and the pump chamber, said valvemeans being opened when a predetermined pressure exists in the chamber,and a projection arranged on the inner surface of the chamber to causerelative deformation between the piston means and the chamber at the endportion of the compressive stroke of the piston means such that an airescape passage is defined between the piston means and the chamber.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Embodiments of the invention will nowbe described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanyingdiagrammatic drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an axial section of an atomiser in accordance with theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a section taken on line II-II in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a section, to an enlarged scale, taken on line IIIIII in FIG.1; and

FIG.-4 is a fragmentary axial section of another form of atomiser inaccordance with the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The atomizer shown in FIG. 1comprises a cylindricalmember 1 arranged to be attached to a container2, which holds the liquid to be dispensed, so as to form a stopper forthe container. For this purpose, the memberv 1, made of plastics, forexample, is threaded and can be screwed on to the neck of the container2.

Within the member 1 is a cylindrical pump chamber 4 having at its upperend .a flange 4a which is held tightly against an inner shoulder la onthe member 1. The lower part of the pump chamber 4 is extended by a diptube 5, a non-return valve 6 being interposed between the pump chamber 4and the dip tube 5.

A sleeve 7, which constitutes a piston,is slidable in the pump chamber4, and a tube 8 is slidable within the sleeve 7, the lower end portionof the tube 8 carrying a valve 9. Movement of thesleeve 7 in relation tothe tube 8 is limitedin one direction by the valve 9 and in the other byan annular shoulder 8a on the tube 8. A spring 10, interposed betweenthe valve 9 and the lower end portion of the pump chamber 4, biases thevalve 9 against a seat 11 at the end of the sleeve 7.

The outer diameter of the annular shoulder 8a is less than the innerdiameter of a bush 12, fitted into the upper end portion of the pumpchamber 4 and carrying a flange 120, which is gripped between theshoulder la of the member 1 and the flange 4a of the pump chamber.

The sleeve 7 has a portion 7a with a frusto-conical outer surface,which, in the inoperative condition of the atomiser, bears against thelower rim of the bush 12. An aperture 13 is formed in the wall of thepump chamber 4 adjacent the sleeve 7.

The frusto-conical portion 7a of the sleeve 7 is extended by acylindrical portion 7b which enables the sleeve 7 to slide with aconsiderable degree of friction on the tube 8. Parts of the cylindricalportion 7b are of reduced thickness and cover openings 14 in the tube 8as shown in FIG. 2. A gap 15 is provided between the tube 8 and thefrusto-conical portion 7a.

The upper end portion of the tube 8 carries a pressknob 16 and is incommunication with an atomiser nozzle 17, secured in the side of thepress-knob 16.

In the drawing, the atomiser is shown in an inoperative condition. Thespring holds the valve 9 against its seat 1 l and also maintains thefrusto-conical portion 7a of the sleeve 7 in contact with the rim of thebush 12, so that the aperture 13 is blocked. The pump chamber 4 and theinterior of the container 2 are thus isolated from the atmosphere and noleakage is possible.

To operate the atomiser, the press-knob 16 is depressed whereupon thevalve 9 leaves its seat 11, but the liquid contained in the pump chamber4 cannot pass from that chamber into the tube 8, because the thinnedwall portions 7c are pressed against the openings 14. I

When' the shoulder 8a of the tube 8 engages the portion 7b of the sleeve7, the latter compresses the liquid in the chamber 4. The liquidpressure acts on the thinned wall portions 70, and when that pressure issufficiently high, the thinned wall portions 7c move transversely awayfrom the openings 14 thus enabling the liquid to pass through theopenings 14 and the tube8 into the nozzle 17 at a given pressure.

Atomisation proceeds as the sleeve 7 descends and drives the liquid intothe tube 8. At the end of the movement, the pressure in the chamber 4falls and the thinned wall portions 7a cover the openings 14, thuspreventing the liquid from reaching the nozzle while the chamber isstill pressurised.

The first time the atomiser is used, the air contained 7 in the pumpchamber 4 is compressed as the sleeve 7 descends. The pressure of thatair might well be insufficient to ensure the movement of the thinnedwall portions 7a away from the-tube 8 in which event no air would escapeto the nozzle 17 and the atomiser could not be primed.

In order to overcome this difficulty, the lower part of the wall of thepump chamber 4 has interior raised projections or ridges 4b (FIG. 3),which extend parallel to the axis of the chamber 4. The ridges 4b arelonger than that part of the sleeve 7 which bear against the wall of thechamber 4 and cause deformation of the sleeve 7 at the end of itsdownstroke and thereby create passages l8-which enable the air to escapefrom the chamher 4. When the sleeve 7 rises again, it resumes itsoriginal shape and restores the seal, so that the air in the dip tube 5is drawn into the chamber 4. After the pressknob 16 has been depressedseveral times, all air will have been expelled from the chamber 4 withthe result that the chamber 4 will be full of liquid; thus, furtherpressure of the press-knob will cause liquid to be discharged in sprayform from the nozzle 17.

There is a possibility that a small amount of liquid will escape throughthe passages 18 at the end of the compression stroke, but this does notmatter, since any such liquid will return to the container through theaperture 13.

The atomiser shown in FIG. 4 is similar to that described in French Pat.specification No. 70 24679. In this atomiser, the openings 14 areuncovered the whole time, so that the pump chamber 4 is placed incommunication with the nozzle 17 as soon as the valve 9 is lifted offits seal 11; a spring 19 is interposed between the sleeve 7 and theshoulder 8a on the tube 8, so that the sleeve is initially carried alongwith the valve and this lifts off its seat only when the pressure in thechamher 4 is sufficient to overcome the force applied by the spring 19.During priming, the valve 9 remains on its seat 11, because the pressureof the air is insufficient to counter-balance the action of the spring19; but this priming is made possible by the raised ridges 4b.

The spring 19 could be replaced by a thin collar fixed to or formingpart of the sleeve 7 and bearing against the shoulder 8a, in which casethe collar, would be elastically deformed to enable the valve to liftoff its seat.

In a further alternative form (not shown) of atomiser the pump chamberis in communication with a cylinder of smaller cross-sectional areaacting in conjunction with a second piston connected to the valve, aspring or the like biasing the valve against a seat in the first piston,which latter follows the translational motion of the press-knob. In thisatomiser, movement of the first piston causes movement of the second,but the volume available for the liquid is reduced by virtue of thecrosssectional area of the cylinder being larger than that of the pumpchamber. The pressure of the liquid contained in that chamber rises, sothat the second piston seeks to move in relation to the first inopposition to the spring or the like. When that pressure becomes highenough to counteract the spring action, the second piston moves,carrying with it the attached valve, so that the pump chamber is placedin communication with the atomiser nozzle. In this case likewise, theprovision of raised ridges in the lower part of the pump chamber enablesrapid priming to be achieved.

What is claimed is:

1. In an atomiser,

means defining a pump chamber,

a non-return valve,

means connecting the pump chamber to a liquid container through thenon-return valve,

a hollow piston having an active part slidable in the pump chamber,

atomiser nozzle means connected with the piston,

closure means normally isolating the nozzle means from the pump chamber,said closure means being releasable by pressure within the chamber topermit communication between the chamber and the nozzle means, and

ridges defined on the inner surface of the chamber,

the axial length of the ridges being at least equal to the length of theactive part of the piston.

2. An atomiser as claimed in claim] wherein the ridges extend parallelto the axis of the chamber.

3. In an atomiser,

means defining a pump chamber,

a non-return valve,

means connecting the pump chamber to a liquid container via thenon-return valve,

piston means mounted in the pump chamber,

nozzle means arranged for communication with the pump chamber,

valve means closable to prevent communication between thenozzle meansand the pump chamber, said valve means being opened when a predeterminedpressure exists in the chamber, and

a projection arranged on the inner surface of the chamber to causerelative deformation between the piston means and the chamber at the endportion of the compressive stroke of the piston means such that an airescape passage is defined between the piston means and the chamber.

1. In an atomiser, means defining a pump chamber, a non-return valve,means connecting the pump chamber to a liquid container through thenon-return valve, a hollow piston having an active part slidable in thepump chamber, atomiser nozzle means connected with the piston, closuremeans normally isolating the nozzle means from the pump chamber, saidclosure means being releasable by pressure within the chamber to permitcommunication between the chamber and the nozzle means, and ridgesdefined on the inner surface of the chamber, the axial length of theridges being at least equal to the length of the active part of thepiston.
 2. An atomiser as claimed in claim 1 wherein the ridges extendparallel to the axis of the chamber.
 3. In an atomiser, means defining apump chamber, a non-return valve, means connecting the pump chamber to aliquid container via the non-return valve, piston means mounted in thepump chamber, nozzle means arranged for communication with the pumpchamber, valve means closable to prevent communication between thenozzle means and the pump chamber, said valve means being opened when apredetermined pressure exists in the chamber, and a projection arrangedon the inner surface of the chamber to cause relative deformationbetween the piston means and the chamber at the end portion of thecompressive stroke of the piston means such that an air escape passageis defined between the piston means and the chamber.